Littleton officer pleads guilty in drug case

Posted
Tuesday, October 29, 2013 2:43 pm

Staff report

A 22-year veteran of the Littleton Police Department pleaded guilty and faces up to 20 years behind bars for planning to sell Ecstasy pills.

Jeffery Allan Johnston, 46, of Parker, entered a guilty plea Oct. 28 to one count of possessing Ecstasy with intent to distribute and one count of being a prohibited person in possession of firearms. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Philip A. Brimmer in February.

Johnston was arrested after the FBI learned from an unidentified source that Johnston was selling MDMA out of his Parker home. He was taken into custody in July after buying 37 pills and 6.3 grams of Ecstasy powder from an undercover officer.

A federal search warrant was executed at the home, where agents found a stainless steel Colt Officers Model .45-caliber pistol with seven rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. It was found above the kitchen drawer that contained the drugs. Investigators eventually discovered a small amount of cocaine, steroids, hundreds of prescription pills, additional firearms, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in the residence. They also found eight other firearms, including an AR-15 and two 12-gauge shotguns.

Johnston faces not more than 20 years in federal prison, and a fine of up to $1 million for possession with intent to distribute MDMA. He also faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for being a prohibited person in possession of firearms, specifically an unlawful user of Schedule I controlled substances while possessing multiple firearms.

Several other charges were dropped, including possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, which could have netted him life in prison.

Johnston has resigned from his position with the police department. He was released on a $100,000 unsecured bond on July 26 and ordered into home detention, monitored by a GPS device.

A City of Littleton spokeswoman said no other officers are under investigation in connection with the case.